The Churning Darkness
by wmn130
Summary: Peter Pan is gone. Neverland is darker than ever before. The Lost Boys are still fighting the Pirates of Captain Hook, but not over treasure anymore. Over Neverland itself.


Peter Pan is gone. Neverland is darker than ever before. The Lost Boys are still fighting the Pirates of Captain Hook, but not over treasure anymore. Over Neverland itself.

My name is Karoshi, and I am now the Pan of Neverland. I took over the name of Pan when Peter Pan never came back from the Mainland, and of course since I was Pan's second-in-command all the other Lost Boys looked up at me in expectation for me to become "The Pan". I never wanted this job, I never wanted to be in charge and looked up to to make all the right decisions and make everyone listen and behave. When Peter had asked me to be his second-in-command, to be the one to take over when he left I never thought I would really have to take up his job, I mean, Neverland is nothing without it's Peter Pan, but I suppose I'm the Pan now, right? Well being The Pan sucks like hell, I had no idea how Peter could stand this job! Having to watch the little heathens, making sure they don't get into any trouble or get lost even though they should know the island themselves, and he has had to take care of all the others, and plan the battles and act the hero part of Pan.

* * *

It's been three years since Peter Pan left Neverland, and since Sioux, my second-in-command now, convinced myself to take up the roll of The Pan. Being Pan had taken it's toll on me these long years, but now I had the trust of all the other Boys, and even I myself have to admit I love the little tykes. I now had scars to show that I protected the boys, and when Peter returned I would scream at him and give up my job, and show him these scars that at least I had protected them while they were away. " _I cannot wait till Peter comes back to take back his job so I can just quit and take a rest, but…."_.

With a soft sigh I reached down with my right arm which was propped up on my right knee which was brought upwards with my left leg stretched out, and with my right hand I pick a few blades of grass from the ground and just twirl it around my fingers. With a tug of the wind through the sky it reaches down and tousled his hair as he gazes into the distance at an island you could just see the outline of. And then with another sigh he throws the grass up into the air and pulls himself up into a standing position. "You know they say that sighing ages you faster" a soft, yet tough voice says behind me. This made me turn around in surprise to see a fellow shorter than him with well toned muscled arms crossed over his chest. Looking at his best buddy he notices how his chest seemed to be more prominent than usual, and that he has a small air of victory about him, "What's up Sioux?" he says in a soft voice which seems to hold something underneath it in secret. With another sigh I curl myself backwards, stretching my arms behind my back, lifting my shirt up over my stomach somewhat. Standing upright again I look to Sioux to see his cheeks now tinged red and raising an eyebrow. I strut up right beside him and set a hand on his shoulder which tenses up slightly at my touch, "You're not overheating now, are ya?" I ask with a tease in my voice. Lifting a hand from his chest he places it on my own chest and pushes me back, I then fake tripping so I land on my ass with a cough of a laugh. However, I could feel the impact run up the muscles in my back and hit the bruises and sore spots there. I see some sparkles and a twinkle flutter by me, and then a small tongue sticking out of the little fairy. That was Tinker Bell, she was always the mocking type. But, once you got to know her she could be quite sweet. "Hey Tink," I just say with a smile before standing up once again and shaking myself in a dog-like manner before brushing my hands down my black Pan outfit and tights. With a strong step towards Sioux I stand in front of him with a question in my eyes and he simply just says, "You need to come down the hill and to the camp."

While walking down the hill beside Sioux in a comfortable silence with Tink flying over my shoulder, I observe the Base coming closer. From this heightened position I could only seeing a tangle of trees with spots of openings here and there. Coming close I see the break in the trees leading towards the middle of the base which is just an empty clearing, but right now I could easily see it wasn't empty anymore. Instead it was filled with a group of nine boys huddled together and with a whip of the wind through the trees the sounds of a soft sobbing sound is sent my way. With a quickened pace I start semi-running to the huddled boys; my feet pounding on the packed down dirt that made up the floor of the Lost Boys' Base. As I come close to the group I dig my heels into the ground, skidding to a stop at their side. Dropping onto his knees, his arm reaches through the group of boys to touch the shoulder of the youngest and littlest boy of the gang; Ace. Pulling the small boy close to his chest he hugs him, running his hand through the boy's curly ginger hair as he starts to hum a song that Wendy used to sing to the kids when she was here. After a minute of this Ace lifts his head to look up at me. When I look into his green-hazel eyes I see a deep sadness lingering there, and upon seeing it, my head darts to a boy with bouncy dirty blonde hair. His black eyes along with his collar bone sticking out. He was wearing an orange tank top and brown pants that reach down to his calf. With a shake of the boy's head he let's out a sigh of relief, knowing that why the youngin' was crying was not because someone had been killed- it was because the only other time one of the gang had been sad like this was when Fox had been hung at Hangman's Island. Looking around the group he notices a certain small boy with spiky black hair and amber eyes who wore a sword sash on his left hip,who had said he would be the next Pan of Neverland, was missing.

A hiccup escapes through Ace's sobs as he tries his hardest to tell me what happened. "W-We were…" _hic_ "Playing by Jaw M-Mountains…" _hic_ "Then P-Pir-" _hic sob_ "P-Pirates came and tried to take us a-away…" _hic sob_ "R-Rufio…" _hic sob_ "He drew out his s-sword and challenged them…" _hic sob sob_ "T-They took him…" _hic sob hic sob_ "They took him Kar!"


End file.
